My thoughts/Suggestions

Hey, I just started playing but I like alot of the features and have gotten a nice introduction and very good welcome to the server so I'll stick around for a while longer I think.

What I have encountered so far and my thoughts about it:
First off. As a newbie it feels like you should be forced to enter the tutorial area once you speak to haggis. When you leave the area you should automatically gain the 3 levels. The lever behind the chapel is very hard to spot, imo.
Second, a lot of the items you pick up in the starting area are far from essential. Really, all you need is an emotewand, the misc-thingy and the runestone. I felt like it was way too much to take in when I first started playing. I'm glad I stuck around though.
Thirdly, I think there needs to be slightly more obvious "enemy encounter areas". It is really hard to find the lizardcaves at first. I've found minogons and vampires on my own but I can't find them again (mostly due to the map-markers not saving properly at server reset), and since the world is so massive while most areas doesn't contain anything that makes you go: "Oh wait, I remember this place, to the west are the Minogons", it is veeery easy to get lost. I've already talked about this with ODA so I am looking forward to the next patch which seems to adress this.

Suggestions
I don't know if any of these exist yet but if they do, please disregard my suggestions.
I think there should be an item that lets you set up portals that you can teleport back and to from. I think there is an item that lets you create one of the regular portals that you can talk to, but I mean like a portalthing that lets you come back to where you were. As it is right now there is no easy way to travel. I mostly just jump a long so I can cross long distances; since my monk has 30 something in dex buffed I can jump a "screen" like that.
I would absolutely love to have one of those "model npc's" in perhaps one of the tailor-shops that lets you copy clothing appearance back and forth between your own and the models. That way if you get a new piece of armor you may just talk to the model, have it copy your current armor appearance and then copy it back onto your new armor. It saves a lot of time and makes your character appear like you want to more easily.
Also, I was thinking about casters. I can imagine it being very difficult to play one since you can only have so many spells in your memory and then must rest. Since you can only rest once every 3 hours or something this is a problem for casters. And you also need a bedroll and a fire unless you are a ranger (and everyone being multiclassed to ranger is kind of boring imo) I believe you can meditate to regain spells but I haven't tested the feature. I came upon a mod once that had these potions that refreshed you although with a chance of taking damage from them. They also always dispelled you completely so that you couldn't buff yourself then use them. They were really expensive though so it could be cool if their price scaled according to your level or something. It is also easily explainable by the fact that more memorised spells need a more potent elixir.
Exp-suggestion: It would be good if you gain a buff to experience if you are killing stuff as a team and you are around the same levels. This promotes teamwork aswell as RP.
Factions: I'd like factions to be implemented, because that promotes RP and good vs evil drama which is always the best kind of drama, imo. There should be an obvious boon to join either side, like having access to something unique for your faction (this probably already exists but on some servers alot of focus seems to go into making evil guilds much cooler and better than the good ones, which is unbalanced).
I would like to be able to read a history of the world that tells a little about the server. There's a lot of information about the systems which easily becomes quite a lot to take in when you first enter the world. I'd like a worked down version that lets me know what I can/should and cannot/shouldn't do in the world - especially when making characters and their backgrounds.
Different starting areas: It would be cool if you could start in different areas depending on your alignment/class/race, but obviously not too far away from a main gathering area. This helps you immerse into the world.
Clerics need more deities listed. 'Nuff said on that issue.

To finish this off I'd like to say that there are a bunch of features I really enjoy with this server, like the book of self to name the first that pops up. I like how it makes it possible to better interact with the world and make your character a part of the overall story. Something I like alot since on many servers it feels like you are just there and doing your thing while the world stays the same and when you are at level 40 the only thing that has changed is that you can beat up more dangerous mobs. So, more things that lets you interact with and be interacted by the world would be greatly appreciated on my end. Like the college, although I'd be happy with just gaining a cool ability or spell by finishing a dm-adventure or similar (or even lose one).

well there are a number of spawns that are fairly easy to get to, and have a pretty easy path in the Tivook area, trolls, goblins, drow a bit underground etc.

and as for the areas that really dont have anything to make you want to remember them.

well even if it makes hunting harder, it allows you to pretty much just go off walking anywhich way you feel like, unlike Amia which has very little room to roam.

oh, and as for the tailor dummies, there are crafting dummies, but they don't quite work at the second.

I'm very slowly learning to appreciate the great distances you need to travel to find cool stuff. But it does tend to get annoying when you climb a mountain for half an hour just to find a cool house and a cave at the top but no transition into them.

I do know it's a beta though but I was expecting something incredibly rewarding at the top. XD

patience is a virtue

First THANK YOU for this thread. We _really_ appreciate PLAYER feedback. The more detail on where, why and how you'd fancy it the better. I try to stay out of these threads for a while because I like to see other PLAYERS' opinions and feedback added before I weigh in on anything - this keeps the input streams clean and flowing. So please ppl, keep adding YOUR perspectives to this and similar threads here. YOUR input is reviewed by the BUILDERS/SCRIPTERS as we advance the development of this module.

If you find a broken transition, please post the locations of such here if possible. You can use the WAND OF MISC (target self) to discover your AREA and coordinates (among other data). Sometimes this is an 'unfinished place' you have found but sometimes it is a broken link and we'll be interested in repairing it asap.

You will see things 'hot up' a bit throughout the module soon. I've been for some time pondering a shortcoming of the design. You see, I build on average one encounter every other Area, for several reasons including 1) monsters gotta hunt too and those lesser creatures who know their turf will often stay clear of it, 2) DM's need 'room to move' their own plots, so empty space gives them a place to address their needs without preprogrammed encounters cloggin up the works. Now, because in a random path through the Areas, and also because not many monsters lurk near the city (patrols would kill them if the concentration of PCs did not), a PC can wander sometimes for rather a good distance without finding an encounter. As I said, this is all about to change as our latest modification to the NESS spawn system is now in place. Simply put, if NO DM is online, additional spawns are activated (many in those 'empty' spaces) these represent creatures from nearby lairs 'hunting' or from more distant lairs 'wandering/exploring'. You will still not find many of these near the city, but a bit out from it, even on the roadway, you will find them soon.

One might be interested to know that this module, now over 1000 Areas is part of a c.3000 Area work. I've been phasing in more Areas (already built some years ago) into the module as we prepare to exit beta - new areas for our veterans to enjoy and more space for the dramas to play through and across. Included in these new Areas are all of Humfoodale (aka Humfoo Province) which is west of Tivook and the border land abutting the deep forest (Toltaw/Hagmoth Forest) from whence Dohral wrests much of her wealth in the form of lumber. Also in the addition is Kragfel Cliffs, which is west of Dohral and south of Humfoodale, a coastal region of rugged terrain.

Based on evaluation of the machine hosting this server and the robust stability of the scripting, I have increased my estimate on the number of areas this machine can support from c.1000 to c.1500. This means a number of additional Areas which I had previously thought would have to remain inaccessible until a new server were added _could_ be slowly added to the mix as we continue to grow our module. Most of these Areas are more remote (we are building 'out from the city' as you may have surmised with Dohral being the nominal hub of growth). These remote locations will be MUCH more patrolled by monster populations than by civilized forces, so get ready for some HARD slogs in hostile territory.

We have a number of teleport powers btw, from the spells (blink, teleport, teleport without error), to portal wands. We will likely add a feature to allow you to port back to your last death spot at a cost (likely a soulrune - perhaps through a feature at the Shrines to the God of Travel). Thanks for that, good idea.

LOL I gotta see your monk jump sometime! Practitioner of the Leaping Locust style!

I like the 'spell recharge' potion notion, I will make those a craftable item but the USE of them will likely cost the user in some serious way, like some XP or some such. Of course, ingredients to create them will not be easy come by either.

On XP, we sorta do that in reverse, if you are in separate areas, you don't get XP from kills of other party members. I _think_ we may have 'dampers' on XP earned if in a PARTY of disparate levels too, even if in same Area.

On Factions... we have GUILD support here, and hope that PC GUILDS will help create their own powerbases within the module. Additionally there are several NPC factions already in the game but many of the quests and tools that would allow you to be adopted by these patron groups is not yet fully integrated (while in beta I'm still seeking to conceal some of the critical notions behind the mega-plots that will run as a backdrop to the world, this in part helps hide my hand there for the time being).

BTW we do have some PC guilds active atm, and we DO customize each but try to keep balance as it is all done on a guild member / area claimed (and held) / money contributed system.

On the 'history' we are about to release our PLAYER'S GUIDE TO DOHRAL as a PDF, I have only to do the grapic portions to release it and give it one more 'editorial review'. So a few more days... stay tuned for a FORUM ANNOUNCEMENT on the release very soon. In the meanwhile, note that the SAGE found on the SHIP IN HIGH SEAS (*part of the DRAMATIC entry for PCs) has a good deal of information to share with you (use the TALK CHANNEL to address him and ask your questions). Additionally, we have a partial implementation of an item called KRAG'S NOTES which is issued to new PCs, if you don't have one ask a DM to issue one for you or get yours from the PC TOOLS CHEST in the start area. This has some info on play, on the campaign and even can tell you a little about SOME areas you may travel through (we are updating areas as we go to accomodate the new tools).

ATM we have only the one OOC starting area, I'll ponder the addition of one or two more once we have finalized the nature of the systems here, esp, which sorts of PC would go to each of these areas.

THANK YOU for your kind words and your time. Many play here, fewer pause to give feedback, and we NEED AND VALUE your feedback, be assured. Again THANK YOU for your input. It is appreciated, we review all input, and this will have an influence on the systems we build down the line and adjustments we make from time-to-time.


Be well. Game on.
GM_ODA

I think there should be a way to check your standing in correlation to your deity. Like if you pray at their altar you can see how liked you are. Currently, I made a cleric that couldn't cast spell but I don't understand what I need to do to be able to do it... Does it work to just pray for a few hours using the runestone?

Someone told me that you gain exp by just roleplaying, but I haven't seen any exp gains from it whatsoever. I was told I have gotten them but then it's invisible to me, unlike the ones you get from DM events. Is that right?

Read the text you see at login, you will find a line in there that indicates XP for RP. This is the XP your PC earned for the PC's prior session of RP.

Be well. Game on.
GM_ODA

I actually noticed it not long after I posted... <.<'

that happens tons!

Yeah, it is a smallish line in a sea of lines, it is easy to miss. BUT AN EXCELLENT QUESTION TO ASK cause I know others are 'missing that line' too.

Be well. Game on.
GM_ODA